Two Major Supreme Court Rulings Back Gay Marriage

News Updates from Citizens for Legitimate
Government26 June 2013www.legitgov.org

Breaking:
Two Major Supreme Court Rulings Back Gay
Marriage 26 Jun 2013 Married gay and lesbian couples
are entitled to federal benefits, the Supreme Court ruled on
Wednesday in a major victory for the gay rights movement. In
a second decision, the court declined to say whether there
is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Instead, the
justices said that a case concerning California's ban on
same-sex marriage, Proposition 8, was not properly before
them. Because officials in California had declined to appeal
a trial court's decision against them and because the
proponents of Proposition 8 were not entitled to step into
the state's shoes to appeal from the decision, the court
said, it was powerless to issue a decision. The ruling
leaves in place laws banning same-sex marriage around the
nation.

Supreme Court strikes down Defense of
Marriage Act 26 Jun 2013 The Supreme Court Wednesday
struck down as unconstitutional the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that denies
federal benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married
in the states where they reside. The court said it violated
equal protection to provide benefits to heterosexual couples
while denying them to gay couples in the 12 states plus the
District of Columbia where same-sex couples may
marry.

Prop. 8: Supreme Court clears way for gay
marriage in California 26 Jun 2013 The Supreme Court
cleared the way Wednesday for same-sex marriages to resume
in California as the justices, in a procedural ruling,
turned away the defenders of Proposition 8. Chief Justice John
Roberts, speaking for the 5-4 majority, said the private
sponsors of Prop. 8 did not have legal standing to appeal
after the ballot measure was struck down by a federal judge
in San Francisco. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen
Breyer, Antonin Scalia and Elena Kagan joined to form the
majority.

Supreme Court strikes down federal provision
on same-sex marriage benefits 26 Jun 2013 In a
dramatic slap at federal authority, a divided Supreme Court
has struck down a key part of congressional law that denies
to legally married same-sex couples the same benefits
provided to heterosexual spouses. The Defense of Marriage
Act defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. The
vote Wednesday was 5-4. "Although Congress has great
authority to design laws to fit its own conception of sound
national policy, it cannot deny the liberty protected by the
Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment," said Justice
Anthony Kennedy. [Click here to read the ruling.]

Snowden hid copies of secret NSA documents
in case something happens to him 25 Jun 2013 A trove
of classified documents supplied to The Guardian newspaper
by NSA leaker Edward Snowden has been copied and shared with
several people around the globe, journalist Glenn Greenwald
told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. Greenwald, the Guardian
reporter who first began publishing National Security Agency
documents earlier this month after meeting with the former
intelligence contractor, told journalist Eli Lake that
Snowden made arrangements to ensure others around the world
have encrypted copies of that information should any
circumstances allow the data or its source to be
compromised. Snowden "has taken extreme precautions to make
sure many different people around the world have these
archives to insure [sic] the stories will inevitably be
published," Greenwald said.

Assange, Back in News, Never Left U.S.
Radar 25 Jun 2013 Until he re-emerged this week as
an ally for Edward J. Snowden, the former computer
contractor who leaked details of National Security Agency
surveillance, [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange looked like
a forgotten man. But the United States government had not
forgotten about him. Interviews with government agents,
prosecutors and others familiar with the WikiLeaks
investigation, as well as an examination of court documents,
suggest that Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks are being
investigated by several government agencies, along with a
grand jury that has subpoenaed witnesses. Tens of thousands
of pages of evidence have been gathered. And at least four
other former members of WikiLeaks have had contact with the
United States authorities seeking information on Mr.
Assange, the former members said, speaking on the condition
of anonymity to discuss a matter they were informed was
confidential.

Army to eliminate 10 brigades at U.S. bases
in drawdown: Odierno 25 Jun 2013 The U.S. Army said
on Tuesday it would eliminate 10 brigade combat teams at
bases across the United States and cancel some $400 million
in construction projects as it cuts about 80,000 soldiers
over the next four years. General Ray Odierno, the Army
chief of staff, said the move was part of the largest
organizational change in the Army since World War Two as the
service winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and
responds to tighter U.S. budgets.

Texas abortion bill fails to pass after epic
filibuster 26 Jun 2013 A bill that opponents claimed
would virtually ban abortion in Texas failed to pass late
Tuesday after lawmakers missed a deadline by just minutes.
There were chaotic scenes after a filibuster attempt fell
just short and protesters cheered, clapped and shouted from
11:45 p.m. to midnight and beyond as lawmakers tried to hold
the vote before the session ended at midnight (1 a.m. ET).
The filibuster by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, who wore a
back brace, lasted almost 11 hours but ended after three
challenges to her speech were upheld. The only way Democrats
in the Republican-controlled Senate could defeat the measure
was by not letting it come to a vote on Tuesday.

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